Brother Egil looked at the note curiously. “Well, it does mention sleeping. Poor Lucius, he must have been exhausted. And he did have a fondness for turnips. But this last part, about visiting Captain Scarbelly—“

“Scarbelly?” asked Kham. He clumped back up the steps of the basement. “He’s bad news.”

Egil nodded. “He’s the captain of the Bloody Vengeance. It’s crewed by orcs.”

“I have heard of this orc,” said Ilmarė. “He claims to have killed 29 men in hand-to-hand combat.”

Vlad slapped one hand on the hilt of his longsword. “Let’s make sure he doesn’t hit 30.” [MORE]